The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an extruded product of a fire-retardant silane crosslinked polyolefin composition and, more particularly, to a method of manufacturing an extruded product (e.g., a fire-retardant crosslinked polyolefin insulated wire) of a fire-retardant crosslinked polyolefin composition by silicone grafting.
According to a known method of manufacturing an extruded product, a polyolefin polymer such as polyethylene, vinyltrimethoxysilane and a graft reaction agent (e.g., a radical polymerization initiator) are heated under given conditions and are reacted with each other to obtain silyl-denatured polyolefin. The resultant silyl-denatured polyolefin is reacted with water in the presence of a silanol condensation catalyst to prepare a crosslinked polyolefin extruded product.
However, conventional extrusion molding has the following disadvantages:
(a) Polyolefin and a graft reaction agent are kneaded and extruded to prepare a crosslinkable graft polymer. This polymer is heated, kneaded, and extruded with a masterbatch of a silanol condensation catalyst (e.g., dibutyldilaurate) and a filler to prepare such a crosslinked polyolefin product. However, according to this method, i.e., a method essentially consisting of two steps, the crosslinkable graft polymer and the masterbatch must be controlled to be isolated from a small amount of moisture. In practice, this control is very difficult. The two-step method results in high cost. In particular, a composition prepared by adding a filler tends to absorb moisture. The masterbatch of the filler and the silanol condensation catalyst must be sufficiently dried (e.g., in air at 80.degree. C. for 48 hours or more) prior to extrusion, thereby prolonging the fabrication schedule.
(b) In order to solve the above problem of the two-step method, polyolefin, unsaturated alkoxysilane, a graft reaction agent, and a masterbatch of a silanol condensation catalyst and a filler are mixed in an extruder.The resultant mixture is heated and extruded to obtain an extruded product, thus achieving a one-step method. According to one-step method, after the various components are mixed to obtain a compound, the compound is supplied from an extruder hopper. An unsaturated alkoxysilane (e.g., vinyltrimethoxy silane (VTMOS)) and a radical polymerization initiator (e.g., an organic peroxide such as dicumylperoxide (DCP)) are filled in the extruder. At first, the unsaturated alkoxysilane must be graft-polymerized with the polymer. For this purpose, a radical polymerization initiator (e.g., an organic peroxide such as DCP) must be decomposed within a short period of time (i.e., within one minute). Therefore, an extruder temperature must be set to 160.degree. to 220.degree. C. and a molten resin temperature must be set to 190.degree. to 230.degree. C. However, when the molten resin is extruded in air from the die port, the unreacted silane component and other volatile components serve as a bubble source. Voids are often formed in an extruded product before the extruded product is cooled. In particular, a composite fire-retardant silane crosslinked composition containing a large amount of an inorganic fire retardant (e.g., a metal hydroxide), an organic fire retardant (e.g., DBDE (decabromodiphenyl ether)), or an inorganic filler (e.g., calcium carbonate) is extruded according to a one-step method, grafting efficiency of the unsaturated alkoxysilane is degraded and shearing exothermic heat is increased (i.e., the viscosity of the composite composition is increased), thus causing generation of bubbles. Therefore, the composite fire-retardant silane crosslinked composition must be extruded according to the two-step method or a compression cooling unit must be used to increase the fabrication cost as well as installation cost.
In order to solve the above problem, the present inventors made extensive studies on (a) an application of a vent extruder, (b) improvement of grafting efficiency and dispersion by using a mixing screw, (c) an application of an unsaturated alkoxysilane compound having a high boiling point (e.g., vinyltris(.beta.-methoxyethoxy)silane having a b.p. (boiling point) of 285.degree. C. and vinyltriethoxysilane having a b.p. of 160.degree. C.), and (d) a change in temperature profile. Bubble generation could be effectively inhibited by a vent extruder in item (a). However, the extruder required modification and was disadvantageous in installation cost. Grafting efficiency and dispersion were evaluated using a fluted mixing screw (Maddock type) and a Maillefer type mixing screw as a mixing screw in item (b). However, the bubbles could not be completely inhibited. The necessary degree of crosslinking could be obtained by using an unsaturated alkoxy silane having a high boiling point as in item (c). However, there was many working limitations and generation of bubbles could not be inhibited.